Thursday, May 2, 2019

We Shall Overcome

In February 2018, Sinn
Féin and the DUP negotiating teams and leaders closed on a draft agreement to
be considered by our leaderships. The DUP leader Arlene Foster failed to get
the support of her Officer Board. The talks collapsed in recriminations. At that
time I wrote: “It is not the end. The shutter has been pulled down on
this phase of talks but ultimately all of the parties, Sinn Féin, Alliance,
SDLP and the UUP and DUP, along with the two governments, will at some point in
the time ahead be back around the same table, negotiating.” And that’s
where the parties and two governments will be when a new round of talks
commence next week.

The murder of Lyra
McKee, and public revulsion at the actions of those responsible, has been the
main catalyst for this at this time. The British Government seized the moment
and announced a ‘new’ talks process. The Irish Government has bought into this.
The shock, outrage and sadness at Lyra’s death has highlighted the widespread
desire for progress. People want solutions to the political impasse at
Stormont. They want local politicians taking responsibility for those issues
that are impacting on citizens, in health and education and the environment and
much more. They want to hold these politicians accountable for their decisions.
But those who support Sinn Féin and wider opinion do not want a return to the
status quo. They want the power sharing government to be rights based. That
means as a first step there needs to be commitments that rights currently being
denied will be delivered.

As two decades of
negotiations through the peace process have shown, finding solutions to long
standing issues of dispute is not easy. It is often hugely time consuming. But
it has been done. Positive change – significant progress - can be achieved when
the political will is created.

The Good Friday
Agreement is perhaps the best example of this. But as George Mitchell pointed
out at the time – that was the easy bit – implementing the agreement would be
much more challenging. He was right. Remember, the DUP absented itself from
those talks. Some UUP representatives, now prominent in the DUP, walked out. It
took almost a decade for Sinn Féin to agree a power sharing government with the
DUP.

Sinn Féin has
consistently worked in good faith within the power sharing government.
Our objective was and is to deliver for citizens. A lot of good work was
done by the Executive and the Assembly and significant progress was made on
many issues, including on cross border and all-Ireland matters. However, the
DUP consistently tried to hollow out the Agreement. They removed Ian Paisley as
leader because he was perceived by some to be too friendly with Martin
McGuinness. The Church which he founded got rid of him.

Martin and Peter
Robinson, who took over from Ian Paisley, had a decent working relationship.
But it was a battle a day. For Peter I am sure, as well as Martin. There were
also very serious allegations - unproven so far - of wrong doing by
some senior DUP figures around NAMA and other important issues. All the
while the DUP approach was minimalist on equality issues. As a
consequence, there was little or no progress on important matters. For example,
21 years after the Good Friday Agreement, there is still no Bill of
Rights.

When Peter Robinson
retired, Arlene Foster’s use of offensive terms to describe Irish speakers and
others highlighted the DUP’s antipathy toward the equality and mutual
respect elements of the Good Friday Agreement and its disrespect for Irish
identity and culture. This was most clearly evident in its antagonism toward
the Irish Language. In a changing Ireland DUP opposition to marriage equality,
its resistance to positive efforts to support women’s’ health initiatives; its
refusal to honour commitments it gave on legacy matters made matters worse. And
then came the costly debacle of the Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI) scandal! A
perfect storm which increased the toxic atmosphere within the Executive and the
Assembly.

Much of this DUP
negativity is fed by the fear political unionism has for the democratic and
demographic changes that have been taking place over the last two decades.
According to the most recent census results those who identify as British now
make up less than half of the population of the North. In the 2017 Assembly
election, for the first time since partition, the UUP and DUP won less than
half of the Assembly seats. But change is also obvious in the nationalist
middle class. Civic republicanism has emerged as a real and growing grassroots
movement for rights and equality. Brexit - and the British Government and the
DUPs disregard for the referendum vote - has been an accelerant for this
movement.

So, let’s be clear about
some basics. The British government is not about to implement previous
Agreements it has failed to honour thus far. It is more concerned with process
at this time than product. The British Government has bigger fish to fry. The
Union to one side, Mrs May really doesn’t care about the North. In the midst of
the Brexit madness at Westminster she will not stand up to her DUP partners in
government and insist that those fundamental human rights available everywhere
else on these islands should also be available for citizens in the North. She
is badly served by Karen Bradley. The current British Secretary of State has
proven herself more incapable than any of her many mediocre predecessors. And
anyway now courtesy of Brexit many people in Ireland and abroad have seen close
up the arrogance, ignorance and downright stupidity and incompetence of British
parliamentarians. What right thinking person would want to be governed by
idiots like them? At least if we had self-government we could sack our own
idiots when we want to.

The murder of Lyra McKee
has not changed any of this. That is the sad reality. Of all the parties Sinn
Féin, rooted in republican communities, and at considerable risk to ourselves
and our families, has stood firmly against these anti peace armed gangs like
the one which killed Lyra. The political parties cannot be blamed for her death,
although those who have a dead hand on the process of change should reflect on
the need to make politics work. For everyone.

Labelling Lyra’s killers
as dissidents is lazy commentary. To dissent is an honourable position. These
groups, heavily infiltrated by the policing agencies, serve no purpose
whatsoever in the political struggle. Her death came during a US
Congressional Delegation visit to Ireland and Britain. Speaker Pelosi and
Congress leader Richie Neal were forthright and clear in their admonishments of
the Brexiteers and on their commitment to the Good Friday Agreement.

Lyra McKee was a victim
of stupidity and nihilism. It struck me as particularly poignant that she was
gunned down on the twenty first anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. It is
also particularly sad that this thoroughly modern young woman and her fiancée
were denied the right to marriage equality by the DUP. Surely a fitting tribute
to her and her bright young life would be to have this right legalised as soon
as possible. No ifs or buts. Just like everywhere else on these islands.

Until the DUP accept or
acquiesce to this and other rights the power sharing government cannot function
properly. DUP leaders know this. They also know that there will be marriage
equality, an Irish Language Act and other rights. It is a matter of when, not
if. An Tánaiste, Simon Coveney, knows this also. So does the Taoiseach.

As always Sinn Féin will
do our best. I am sure our leaders will encourage the DUP to have these matters
resolved as soon as possible. The Irish Government needs to do likewise. The
Taoiseach is a co-equal guarantor of the Good Friday and other agreements. Let
us be positive. We will have our rights. We shall overcome.